Paperboard carrier with handle



June 28, 196@ P. c. COLLURA EVAL 2,942,756

RAPERBOARD CARRIER WITH HANDLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 21, 1958 @n am.

June 28, 196 p, c, COLLURA ETAL 2,942,756

PAPERBOARD CARRIER WITH HANDLE Filed April 21,- 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O PAPERBOARD CARRIER WITH HANDLE Peter C. Collnra, Waltham, and Robert M. Hurley, Cambridge, Mass., assignors to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 21, 1958, Ser. No. 729,755

6 Claims. (Cl. 220-113) The present invention relates to carriers for cans, bottles and similar articles and more particularly to collapsable carriers formed of foldable sheet material such as paperboard.

An important object of the invention is to provide a collapsable paperboard carrier with a centrally located handle and partition panel adapted to separate articles contained in the carrier and at the same time serve as a means for assisting the carrier to remain in expanded condition after its initial setting up and before receiving its contents.

A further object is to provide a collapsable form of carrier` particularly adapted for two bottles, cans or similar articles, such carriers having bottom closure parts designed to move into closure forming position in theprocess ofexpandng the carrier, and including in such carrier a unitary handle and partition panel that has a portion extending into close proximity to the bottom closure to afford complete separation of articles held in the carrier and Vat the same time retain the bottom closure in flat position to increase the rigidity of the set up carrier.

A still further object is to provide a carrier of the type above referred to which is formed from a minimum number of panels joined together so that the vertical outer walls of the carrier are solid or unbroken to furnish printing surfaces of maximum desirability.

v. Other objects are to provide a generally improved paperboard carrier, of simple construction, having relatively few parts, and affording maximum strength and protection to its contents while utilizing a minimum area of paperboard.

Additional and more specific objects and advantages of the carrier of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention- Fig. l is a perspective view of the 'carrier in its set up condition;

t Fig. 2 is a reduced-scale plan view of the carrier blank laid out hat and indicating areas where adhesive may be applied to secure the parts in operative relation;

Figs. 3 and 4 are plan views of the carrier blank showing progressive stages of folding the blanks to form a collapsed carrier; A

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the carrier in collapsed condition after final folding and gluing; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary top plan view, looking down into the expanded carrier illustrated in Fig. 1, toshow the construction of the handle portion of the carrier.

The carrier, as herein disclosed, is well adapted to hold two cans or bottles of a size to contain a quart or more of liquid which, in common practice, has been found to comprise a convenient retail sales unit. The carrier is preferably-formed from a single blank of foldable sheet material providing four wall panels secured in rectangular form. A composite handle and partition panel extends transversely Aacross the carrier and has its .edges hingedly securedl along medial vertical lines of opposite walls.

2,942,756 Patented June 28, 1960v lCC One edge of the partition is secured to a short connecting panel which, in the blank, is located between the partition panel and one of the wall panels. This con-r necting panel has a dimension approximately one-half the length of the walls to which the partition is secured and serves to position one edge of the partition accurately when the short connecting panel is folded against and secured to the inner face of the carrier wall. The other edge of the partition preferably carries a pair of narrow flaps which are hinged together. These are folded one against the other and the outer of the two flaps is secured to the carrier wall. This outer flap carries at its free edge a supplemental panel which is foldable against the principal panel and reinforces it. Both panels have reg istering openings cut therein to admit the fingers of a person handling the carrier.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the carrier shown in set up condition in Pig. 1 is in the present instance formed from a single blank of foldable paperboard, as shown in Fig. 2. The blank is suitably cut and creased to form four wall panels 10, 11, 12 and 13, defined from each other by fold lines 14, 15 and 16. Panels 10 and 12 are preferably made approximately twice the width of panels 11 and 13. The longer panels form the side walls and the shorter panels form the end walls. An intermediate connecting panel 18, hinged t0 panel 13 along fold line 19, carries a principal partition panel 20 which is hinged to panel 18 along fold line V21.

The wall panels 2.6 and 12 are preferably formed with triangularly shaped, upward extensions 16a and 12a to provide part of an upstanding central portion located between the carrier compartments. TheV connecting panel 18, which is designed in the set up carrier to be secured to panel 10, also has an extended portion indicated at 18a. The panel 18 could extend downward substantially to the lower end of panel 13 but preferably is cut away, as indicated at 18h, except for a narrow strip 18e serving with the main panel 18 as a connection with wall panel 10 to secure the walls in rectangular tubular form. By cutting away panel 1S as shown, gluing of the carrier is facilitated as will be made clear below.

The principal partition panel also functions as a handle panel and for this purpose has a cut-out opening 24 near its upper end to admit a persons lingers for ease in handling the carrier. referred to as a composite handle and partition panel. At the lower edge of panel 2li is a supplemental panel 25 hinged to panel 20 along fold line 26 for a purpose presently to be explained. At-theV upper end of panel 20 there is provided a small panel 27 having a narrow cut-out section 27a. ri`his panel is adapted to be folded down along fold line 28 and adhesively secured to the top part of panel 2@ to provide an additional thickness of Sheet material at the strip 2th: constituting the hand grip.

On the outer edge of panel 29 there is provided a pair of narrow panels 29 and 39. The panel 29 is separated f from the partition 2G by a fold line 31, and the two narrow panels are separated by fold line 32. In the present instance the panels 29 and 39 are substantially identical in shape. At their upper ends they are cut at an angle so Vthey will conform to the shape of the side wall 12, as will be made clear as the description proceeds.

On the outer edge of narrow panel 30 is carried a reinforcing panel 34,*hinged to panel 39 along fold line 35. This panel 34 is adapted to be secured to the upper portion of the panel 20 and has an opening 36 cut therein cut to register with opening 24 in panel 2t?. vBoth panels 29 and 34 may have narrow strip portions indicated at 24a and 36a designed to be folded over in a well known mannerto provide a. relatively at bearing surface at the upper side of the finger opening to provide a more comfortable construction for carrying.

This panel may conveniently be v The carrier walls Vare provided with hinged flap extensions 38, 39, V4@ and 41 which together, form an .automatic lock-bottom closure `of generally conventional .f im, similarin construction and operation to the Vbottom construction disclosed in the U. S. patentto L. H. Phillips'fNo. 2,569,335. The Vbottom flaps are defined fronithe sidewalls bya common, longitudinally extendingV fold line 42. The naps 39 and 41 are each diagonally creased at 43 and 44- to separate the main portions of the ilaps lfrom' foldable portions 4S and 46. The flaps 33 and e@ are constructed with interengaging parts which in normal use aid in holding the, flaps in closure forming position and resist Vforces on the -aps tending to swing them Vdownward Aandoutward of the carrien In order to causethe closure flaps to interengage, the flap 4t) is formed with a rigid tongue portion 48 receivable within the'space between two separated, rigid tabs Yor tongues 49 ande@ projecting Vfrom -tne outer edge of The triangular Vportions 41 land @i3-hinged to walls 13 and 11 are folded to'lieagainst such'walls; the triangutheglued edgeV portion of wall V10 toenablefthe closureY ap to swing down when `the carrier isf'being set up. @It is also to .be noted Vthat cutting away the panel 18 at 18h enables this panel to'be glued to the side Wall 10 Without interfering' with the yclosilrellap 38 which, at the time panel 13 is brought against the side Wall for permanent gluing thereto, is lying flat against the wall Y panel 10.

lar portions 45 'and i9 are'folded outwardly and have adhesive'app'l-ied thereto; afterl which'rthe blank is Vfolded so that the carrier isrlt-rought to collapsed tubular form with-nap 33 bearing on the portion 46 and flap 40 bearingon portion 45. VWhen the adhesive has set the bottom closure is ready forV use and completely enclosed Within the collapsed Vcarrier walls. Asthe carrier walls are brought to expanded Vposition the bottom closure Y on the body offlap 38;?The'tabs 49andV 50 likewiseV flaps are automatically pulled down andthe tongue 48 Vmoves in between tabs 49 and 5G and cornes to A'rest come tov rest von the. body of `ldapV 40.Y Y At Ythe same f time L The carrier vas thus faridescribed is in complete'at, collapsedfform, ready to vbe deliveredto 'thefuserf VWhen itis desired'to'se't'up the carrier it is onlygnecessaryfto apply inward pressure along the two edgesiof'the collapsed carrier. Thisgwill cause the carrier to expand toward rectangular form. As walls 11'and 12 moveV away from each other the diagonally folded ap 39 be caused to move toward flat or uniplanar condition. This'will forcefully pull downward the closure Hap l40 to which the triangular part 45 is secured.Y 'Likewise'the closure ap 38 is pulled down by the ilattem'rigy of the diagonally folded Vflap 41. lDuring the downward lswinging niovementthe'free portions of flaps 38 and! 40- come into lcontact and move relatively with a combined swingjing andt sliding movement until "theitongue' 48 snaps intorplace'between the twov rigid'tab portions 49 and I5 0.'`

dia'tgon'allyv foldable laps arerrnoved to unfolded corndition to, lie substantially parallel with the interengaged aps 3S and 4Q. Depending'uponsthe resistance ofthe fold lines and the'length-of time the carrier has Yre-v Y maimed coLlapsed, .there is some tendency of thel closureflapsto swingsomewhat upward from Vtheir Aclosed posi-V tionsafter'the force applied to expand the carrierfwalls released.. This tendency maybe prevented by'forming the supplemental partition panel 25V of such lengthY that its lower end will swing down into engagement with the closure flaps. z

'l The flat blanks, as shown. in Fig.V 2, are treated by Ysuitable gluing and folding? mechanism by means of which adhesive applied to the areas shown instippling f Yon panels 10; 12,2130, 34, 45 and 46. After adhesive has been applied, the'r first folding step is'- indicated rby comparing FiglZfandfEig. t'will beseen that panel 27 Yw1ll be folded Ydown. upon panel20 Yalongfold line V28.V jfianelsvfand 34`willbefolded as a unit about fold line 32. softhat thenarrow .panelY 30 will come to n rest uplonnftsl companionl narrowV panel29; Ypanel 34 Vwill YIoyerlieintolded panel 27 above the fingeropening; andV slightly upwardly-inclined position.' VVIn Yorder'toretain Vthe closure aps substantially in flat-position' thefsupplement'al panel 25 is rswung downwith its-lower tree edgebearing against the naps, causing 'them to move down. The pressure ofthe flaps upwardon theedge Y ofthe supplemental panel will hold such panel infpo'sition substantially in 'the plane of the panel'20 Yon which panel 25 is carried. 'f l 1 Y .Y

`The carrierrwhen setup as vjust described', is Yready-to Y .la receiveits contents, such asV two bottlesof'beverage.

Y therein.

' The compartments voftlie carrier Will-,Tof course, beproportioned 1 so that theV bottles 1 `.willY lit rf-relativelyfclosely Due to' the ffactth'atxithe supplemental partition extends to! the bottom; closure,Jbottlesplaced'within 1 the carrier compartments -Will Vbe eectivelysepar'ated the'Y lower pai-tof panel'` 34 Vwill o Vdirectly' 4contact 5 panel Y' 20./ Y TheV portionsioffaps 39T. andg41 hinged VtoV the Y narrow panels 11 and 13 are folded to lie llatontheir VV '/attachedjwalls, Dand'the'.jap portiongas Vming are g lowerV` end'fsowasfnotitol interfere the diagonally foldedalongftheir diagonalfoldQline's to lie against'theV portions tof which th'ey'jareiattached. nvThe'closure vflaps 1 high speed gluing machines and, is thus relativelyLinex- L'Iflaispwill *bring` the" narrow flap 39 1 against thegglued Y 1 Vareaonfvfall panel'lf. Y Panel VZtluivill'overlie a'portionV orf/wall panel 12 and connecting vpanel V18 will overlie a 'portion of Wall'panel V13. It may benotedfthat the extended part 18e isfcut away alongV aidiagonalflineeatz'its Vfrolded'ilap 41.V Y

Vilf'alls'lii)V and 12. f vThe .s upp'lementalY partition-panel 25 Y isfolded'up tolie'aga'inst the 'prncipalrpartitionf fr;Thenextfoldingstepiwillbe understood by a com? f parison `oflFigY 3 and Eig? 14.. 'itwll :be seentha't the adjacent .thein lowereportionslas wellfas'v their uppergportions. Inthe preferredl practice'the Yheight of thelcar'- rieri with respect to, thebottl'es tobe carried issuch; that the: juncture: of Ythe ,neck With.tliei shoulders fof' thebottle will be somewhatjbelow the'inger opening.' 1

.The icarrier. disclosedhereinl has many advantages. 1 It may; vbe. formed froxn a,single"lglanlnj of paperboard ion formed Vas complete solid or unbroken panel'sr AThe blanks whenY printed with tYhef-usersvr trademark .and .otherz'fdesc rjiptiveV or advertisingmatteli enable .the finished vcarriers Y Vto have aineatlaiid pleasing appearancei. jProblernsof :copy makeup gandgpa'nel Yregistrationfin the .gluingioperation rejlargelyeliminated. As the.compositehaudle'andi-partitionp'anel readily lends` itself-totheY .employmentiof additional, integral panels ftojreinforce VYthe handle. :portio'n it is'feasible to utilizerelativelylight paperboardand Istill'provide acarrier Ywith adequate strengthforfthe puro pose intendedll By nthe use .of VVaM depending supplemental i 'partition/panel' i'foldable fag'a'insti the Aprincipal "partition n VY pfan'el in collapsed condition I of f thecaii'ier; Yit is -possible to provide a carrier with an infolded automatic lock bottom closure and still obtain a full length partition construction to separate the body portions of the bottles in the carrier throughout their lengths. The combination of the supplemental partition panel with an automatic lock bottom in which the bottom closure parts are maintained flat, due to edge engagement by the supplemental partition panel, provides a relatively rigid, nonweaving carrier when held by the handle. Due to the use of the handle reinforcing panels on both the upper edge and lateral edge of the principal panel, a sturdy gripping strip of three-ply construction is provided and both sides of the finished handle panel present the outside surface of the paperboard stock, giving a desirable printing surface on both sides of the handle.

While the foregoing description sets forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, numerous changes may be made in the construction without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

We claim:

l. A rectangular lock bottom carrier formed of foldable sheet material, having elongated side walls and narrow end walls hingedly connected in tubular form and adapted to be folded together as a dat, collapsed tube, upwardly foldable aps hinged on the bottom edges of the walls, adapted to lie atwise between the walls in their dat, collapsed condition and swingable downward to closure forming position when the side and end walls are moved to expanded condition, interengaging parts on the closure flaps to prevent the swinging of such ilaps outward beyond their closure forming position, a principal partition panel extending vertically between the inner surfaces of the side walls and having its vertical edges `hingetlly secured thereto, said principal partition panel having on its lower edge an extended, hinged, supplemental partition, such supplemental partition being unsecured to the side walls and adapted to be folded up to lie dat against the principal partition in the collapsed condition of the walls and to be swung down into the plane of the principal partition after the carrier walls have been moved to their expanded position.

2. A carrier as dei-ined in claim l, wherein the lower edge of the principal partition is spaced above the piane of the closure flaps in their closed position a distance approximately equal to the vertical dimension of the supplemental partition, whereby swinging of the supplemental partition down into the plane of the principal partition will bring the lower free edge of the supplemental partition into juxtaposition with the plane of the closure iiaps and restrain their upward movement.

3. A rectangular carrier formed of foldable sheet rnaterial, having elongated side walls and narrow end walls hingedly connected in tubular form and adapted to be folded together as a flat, collapsed tube, a bottom closure for the carrier, a principal partition panel extending Vertically between the inner surfaces of the side walls and having its 'vertical edges hingedly secured thereto, said principal partition panel having on its lower edge an extended, hinged, supplemental partition, such supplemental partition being unsecured to the side walls and adapted to be folded up to lie flat against the principal partition in the collapsed condition of the walls and be swung down into the plane of the principal partition when the carrier walls are moved to an expanded condition.

4. A rectangular lock bottom carrier formed of foldable sheet material, comprising two side walls and two end walls hingedly connected in tubular form and adapted to be folded together as a flat, collapsed tube, upwardly foldable aps hinged on the bottom edges of the walls, adapted to lie atwise between the walls in their flat, collapsed condition and swingable downward to closure forming position when the side and end walls are moved to expanded condition, interengaging parts on the closure aps to prevent the swinging of such aps outward beyond their closure forming position, a principal partition panel extending vertically between the inner faces of the side walls and parallel with the end walls, an intermediate panel integrally hinged along one edge to an edge of one of the carrier walls, the other edge of the intermediate panel being integrally hinged to a vertical edge of the principal partition panel, said intermediate panel having a width approximately equal to one-half the side wall length and being secured flat against one of the side walls, thereby serving to secure one edge of the partition centrally of such side wall, an attaching ap hinged on the opposite vertical edge of the principal partition, said attaching ap being secured to the opposite side wall with its hinge line disposed centrally of such side wall, whereby two rectangular compartments are provided in the carrier and whereby the principal partition may be moved to a dat position between the side walls when the carrier is folded in the form of a lat, collapsed tube, and said principal partition having on its lower edge an extended, hinged. supplemental partition, such supplemental partition being unsecured to the side walls and adapted to be folded up to lie at against the principal partition in the collapsed condition of the walls and to be swung down into the plane of the principal partition after the carrier walls have been moved to an expanded position.

5. A carrier as derined in claim 4, wherein the intermediate panel is cut away along an edge substantially aligned with the lower edge of the principal partition to permit the upward folded bottom closure flaps to engage atwise against the inner surfaces of the carrier Walls, in collapsed condition, without contacting the intermediate panel, the principal partition or supplemental partition.

6. A rectangular carrier formed of foldable sheet material, comprising two side walls and two end walls hingedly connected in tubular form and adapted to be folded together as a llat, collapsed tube, a bottom closure for the carrier, a partition panel extending vertically between the inner -faces of the side Walls and parallel with the end walls, an intermediate panel integrally hinged along one edge to an edge of one of the carrier walls, the other edge of the intermediate panel being integrally hinged to a vertical edge of the partition panel, said intermediate panel having a width approximately equal to onehalf the side wall length and being secured at against one of the side walls, thereby serving to secure one edge of the partition centrally of -such side wall, an attaching ap hinged on the opposite vertical edge of the partition, said attaching ap being secured to the opposite side wall with its hinge line disposed centrally of such side wall, whereby two rectangular compartments are provided in the carrier and whereby the partition may be moved to a dat position between the side walls when the carrier is folded in the form of a at, collapsed tube, and a supplemental partition hingedly connected to the lower edge of the partition panel and extending therefrom, such supplemental partition being unsecured to the side walls and adapted to be folded up to lie fiat against said partition in the collapsed condition of the walls.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bosrock et al Apr. 14, 1959 

